ARKS work was tiring.
Chroto spent more time on the ship than on the field and thus dealt more with people than hostiles. He wasn't sure which was more exhausting at times.
He was often chastised for being lazy, and he had no argument for it. When asked why he joined a labor-intensive job like ARKS, he'd reply that it was still less work than finding a civilian job, plus the politics were interesting.
He did the bare minimum amount of work to keep his job and remain in his superiors' neutral graces. He'd find loopholes and take the most forgiving of time limits to allow himself to take his sweet time.
Still, moments of relaxation were growing more and more scarce as time went by, and he took all that he could get.
He was not antisocial by any means. He enjoyed enthralling conversations on politics, the state of the economy, wild (and not so wild) conspiracy theories, history...
But there weren't that many people to converse on such topics with. Most were more interested in gossip, pop culture and stroking each-other's egos.
Thus he found that he quite enjoyed quiet solitude. Time to breathe, unwind, let go of the hectic thought processes to best deal with people, and just... relax.
Most often, he'd be kicked back on his couch with a book he wouldn't have the time to get more than a chapter into; a glass and bottle of bourbon on the coffee table with the dull glint of the sinking 'sun' lighting it up. Some times he'd leave mellow music in the background, but most of the time, he'd just end up dozing off to his own breathing.
It was peaceful and very rarely felt lonely.
He didn't give out his partner card easily. He didn't want people calling on him for help with missions or client requests when he had his own to do. Still, the world was give and take, and he needed assistance himself at times.
Overlook the fact that he only chose people who were likely to do most of the work without complaint.
One of the first was a rather small, young newman girl. She had the energy of at least five people and worked day in and day out to 'find something she lost track of.'
She called on him more than was reasonable (to the point neither of them thought it rude anymore when he'd give the one-word reply of "no.") and made no secret of her childish crush on him (and about four other people). Her honesty made it less awkward as she pouted that she knew he wasn't interested and was fine with it. He wondered if she thought of it as a game; see how much she could tease and swoon before being called a creep.
He pitied the man she ended up with one day.
Somehow, she still made a better conversation partner than most of the people who tried to butter him up. While she was no slouch in meaningless babble, she had a surprising understanding about the chain of command and who to look out for.
When did kids get so scary?
She also knew his aversion to effort and would invite him to help with the most trivial of tasks that more often than not just ended in a lazy picnic. He got to write the time off as work one way or another, so he was happy enough to humor her.
Crush aside, she was rather pleasant company after she'd calmed down.
When the second newman who seemed infatuated with him came along, he wondered just what kind of pattern it was turning into.
He was never sure if they were a man or a woman. It wasn't that they were that androgynous; it was like they changed daily and answered to both. It was strange, but not the strangest thing he'd seen in his days.
One of the things they complained about most often was dealing with people. They seemed content to listen to his own babble about the state of things, usually unfocused eyes snapping to attention as they listened intently.
He asked them one day why they hung around him so much when they couldn't be bothered with many others.
"I enjoy your insight. You always have something interesting to say that makes me question how I viewed things. It's not common to find someone like that. It's nostalgic."
Their eyes were far away at that point, but he never felt so respected.
They usually invited him just as backup rather than real help, content to leave him in the back just keeping the attention of whatever they weren't focusing on until they could get to it. Fraudulent missions claimed to take hours saw them spend most of the time laying beneath the sky, silently picking shapes in the clouds.
That newman had a very large support partner, built more like a full CAST. Instead of simple gathering missions, she could fulfill all manner of request.
They sent her to him on multiple occasions, either to fill a spot on the observation courses or to take him away from work.
She had little to no personality, only following her master's orders. She had a striking resemblance to her master that made him wonder how narcissistic they might have been, but there was something just... off about the design that instead made him curious. Not to mention that she was somehow more obviously female.
Even though she was built more like a CAST, she still only had the processing power and memory of a support partner. Her hard drive would fill up within a week and she would erase everything that wasn't directly important. She'd turn up not knowing who he was and not caring.
"My Master has instructed me to invite you to supervise me as I gather materials on Naberius."
All he had to do was make sure she didn't wander off a cliff. Otherwise he could just kick back and relax in the shade as she gathered fruit.
In another time, he spent the end of the day with a human woman he'd come to know very well. They'd met some number of years before the mess with The Elder and everything else.
She was refreshing. Things other people stressed on, she couldn't care less about. She had mediocre dreams but a strong determination. Like the newman, she held a respect for him, but didn't place him quite so high. He felt they were both humbled by the relationship and managed to better each-other.
She didn't call on him often— no, instead it was him calling on her to make sure she didn't get herself into trouble running off so recklessly.
The evenings were just as peaceful as the ones he'd previously spent alone. Artificial sunlight would bathe the room in a warm hue to match the warmth their bodies quietly shared. The gentle rise and fall with their breaths made either of them forget the weight of the other on their chest, feeling like they were on clouds.
He wasn't sure when it stopped or started. Had it ever? If he ever thought about it, it felt all too fuzzy.
The only other one he spent extensive time with felt much the same way when he thought about it, so he didn't.
It was another young newman man that had attached himself to him. He often felt like he was the only one that cared for him, or at least the first one. It probably wasn't the healthiest relationship, but he couldn't deny that he felt happy every time those eyes looked back at him with such devotion.
He was another one that tried not to bother him too much and tended to wait around until called himself. It seemed the only way to get the newman to ask for help was to ask assistance from him several times first; something to show that his presence wasn't a bother rather than simply tell him so. As high-maintenance and wishy-washy as he seemed, all it took was a little tug by the wrist to untangle his worried mess of a mind.
Evenings that weren't spent sleeping away the exhaustion of the work day were spent leisurely making dinner together or soaking in the bath. When they had less motivation to do much of anything, they'd call in delivery and finally watch that movie they never seemed to have time for. As busy as work was, those oddly domestic days should have been the most peaceful he could remember.
Instead, each moment felt painfully fleeting; as if the next time he blinked his eyes, he'd be in another time and place where he knew nobody.
In another time, he wakes up yet again to the alarms urging all ARKS to the frontlines. The twins are making quick work of one, two, who knows how many ships in the fleet. And something else isn't far behind them.
Only one of them can count as 'people,' and after remembering the heartbroken faces that had returned not so long ago, he decides that that one will be the worst one to deal with.
He begins about his room, which has only ever housed one in its time under his name, quickly yet calmly gathering and adorning the gear left just so in case of such emergencies.
ARKS work is tiring.
Written October 2nd 2015
Started as something light, but once the Chrotwo got involved, it took a darker turn that ended up relevant to current events, much like "Hands Ticking Away". Wrote it on a tablet in a hot car with an annoying voice assaulting my ears with words that meant nothing, so it's not that great. But I like it. Playing with warbly timelines is fun when you don't have to give a crap about canon.
It's not really what I wanted to lead Aurum's drabble collection with, but it also works, I guess. Ah, since I kept everyone nameless... The final two characters are Sherri and Aurum. The rest will remain nameless, but know that they're not official characters.